---
title: 'Senior Software Engineer - AI at Xero'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-ai-xero-melbourne-wy84yt8bba9z'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-17'
---

# Senior Software Engineer - AI at Xero

- **Company:** [Xero](https://feeny.ai/companies/xero)
- **Location:** Melbourne, Australia
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-10-15
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-17
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/xero/0c345d63-dcc1-4fa0-b521-a0fb6fff29ca

## Job description

## The role and its impact

As a Senior Software Engineer - AI, you'll lead the development of Xero's Internal AI orchestration platform - the foundation that enables teams across Xero to build and run AI agents safely and at scale. This is where technical excellence meets real-world impact. You'll define the standards and patterns that keep our Internal AI solutions aligned with strategic goals and engineering best practices, all while staying hands-on. You'll translate complex functional requirements into robust, scalable technical solutions that other teams depend on, and you'll champion emerging technologies to help advance what's possible with AI at Xero.

The team and how they connect Our team builds the AI platform and shared patterns that help teams across Xero work with AI safely and at scale - from internal tools that simplify everyday work to frameworks that enable other engineers to build faster. We're a collaborative group dedicated to delivering high-quality, trustworthy software through strong engineering practices and a culture of continuous learning. You'll work closely with product owners, business analysts, designers and security teams, sharing knowledge regularly and providing constructive feedback that lifts everyone around you. The team is currently working on

- Internal AI platform architecture and agentic frameworks that enable cross-functional teams to build agents safely
- Secure agentic access patterns for data and tools across Xero
- Governance, cost tracking and evaluation tooling to build confidence in AI model quality
- Building the shared patterns and starter templates that help the wider engineering community ship faster with AI

Where and how you can work This role is based in Sydney or Melbourne, with flexibility to work hybrid. We offer regular collaboration opportunities and team boost days to strengthen working relationships across the platform and our cross-functional partners.

Here are some of the things we are looking for

- You've spent considerable time delivering production-grade software, with hands-on frontend experience in a modern framework like React.
- You're comfortable designing, building, deploying and running APIs and backend services in containerised environments using languages like Python or TypeScript.
- You bring strong experience with CI/CD pipelines, modern Git workflows and automated testing across the full software stack.
- You've designed secure authentication and authorisation patterns for services—thinking through OAuth/OIDC and similar approaches.
- You have practical experience building with agentic AI systems, including agent loops, tool calling and frameworks like pydantic-ai or LangGraph.
- You can translate technical trade-offs into clear language for both technical and non-technical stakeholders, and you stay curious about emerging technologies.

Why Xero? At Xero, we recognise that diversity of thought drives better outcomes. We Go Together; knowing the direction and bringing the right people. Our human-first culture of respect, fairness and inclusion is what helps us thrive at work and beyond. Research shows that women and underrepresented groups are less likely to apply unless they meet every single requirement. But you could be exactly the right person for this role. We offer generous paid leave (plus statutory holidays), dedicated paid leave for physical and mental wellbeing with access to an Employee Assistance Program, health insurance and dental reimbursement with vision allowances, a healthcare spending account, fertility and family forming support, wellbeing and sports programmes, employee resource groups, 26 weeks of parental leave for primary caregivers, an Employee Share Plan, flexible working, career development, and beautiful offices with shared meals. You'll do the best work of your life here.

Apply even if your experience isn't a perfect match! At Xero, we hire based on your skills, passion, and the unique perspective you can bring to enhance our culture and team.

## About Xero

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Xero provides cloud-based accounting and financial management software for small businesses, serving over 4.9 million customers worldwide.
- **Entity Type**: Public (ASX: XRO, S&P/ASX 200 component)
- **Headquarters**: Wellington, New Zealand
- **Founded**: July 6, 2006
- **Founders**: Rod Drury, Hamish Edwards

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Cloud accounting software (SaaS)
- **Target customers**: Small businesses, accountants, and bookkeepers (B2B)
- **Mission**: To make life better for small businesses globally by automating routine tasks and delivering actionable insights.

## Products & Services
- **Xero Accounting Software**: Cloud-based platform for invoicing, bank reconciliation, expense tracking, payroll, and financial reporting. Sold by subscription (Starter, Standard, Premium tiers).
- **JAX – AI Finance Partner**: An AI-powered assistant integrated into Xero that automates routine tasks and provides insights to help businesses grow.
- **Xero Ecosystem**: Over 1,000 third-party app integrations via the Xero App Store, covering payments, inventory, CRM, and more.
- **Xero for Nonprofits**: Discounted subscriptions (25% off) for eligible nonprofit and community organisations.
- **Xero for Purpose**: Social impact initiatives including financial literacy programmes (Unlock Your Numbers), sustainability tools (Sumday carbon app), and the Xero Beautiful Business Fund (NZ$750,000+ in funding annually).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed in provided sources (publicly traded with market cap available on ASX; latest data not included in search results).
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue NZ$2.103 billion (FY2025); Net income NZ$227.8 million (FY2025).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Board Chair David Thodey; CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy. In June 2025, Xero announced an agreement to acquire Melio, a New York-based payments provider, for $2.5 billion.
- **Growth Signals**: Achieved Rule of 40 outcomes of 41.0% (May 2024) and 43.9% (Nov 2024). Customer base grew to 4.9 million. Headcount of 4,610 employees (2025). Expanding globally with offices in New Zealand, Australia, UK, US, Canada, South Africa, and Singapore.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Market leader** in cloud accounting across New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.
- **AI-first approach** with JAX, embedded directly into the core product to reduce manual work.
- **Extensive integration ecosystem** (1,000+ apps) creating high switching costs for customers.
- **Strong brand trust** built over 19 years with a focus on small business success.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI and automation**: Deepening AI capabilities (JAX) to deliver predictive insights and automate finance workflows.
- **Payments expansion**: Acquisition of Melio to strengthen payments capabilities for small businesses.
- **Sustainability**: Reducing carbon emissions (72% reduction in scope 1 & 2), offering free carbon accounting tools, and supporting small business sustainability.
- **Social impact**: Scaling programmes like the Beautiful Business Fund and financial literacy initiatives.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Values-driven, human-centric organisation with a focus on making a tangible impact on small businesses globally.
- **Flexibility**: Emphasises a flexible environment and time for what matters most (remote/hybrid policy not explicitly stated but implied).
- **Perks & benefits**:
  - One paid day off per year for volunteering (Community Connect programme).
  - Free access to Sumday carbon accounting app for employees.
  - Financial literacy resources and mentorship programmes.
- **Engineering & innovation**: Dedicated Engineering and Data & AI teams (open roles visible on careers page). Global collaboration across 7+ countries.
- **Diversity & inclusion**: Indigenous inclusion initiatives (te ao Māori in NZ, Reconciliation Action Plan in Australia), support for Indigenous communities.
- **Sustainability focus**: Employees can contribute to environmental goals through company-wide initiatives.

## Sources
1. [Wikipedia – Xero](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xero)
2. [Xero About Page](https://www.xero.com/au/about/)
3. [Xero Careers – Inside Xero](https://careers.xero.com/inside-xero/)
4. [Xero Careers – Teams](https://careers.xero.com/)
5. [Xero Homepage](https://www.xero.com/)

## Other roles at Xero

- [Senior Marketing Manager, EMEA](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-marketing-manager-emea-xero-cape-town-j5dbt77nvz6x) — Cape Town, South Africa
- [Director of Product Design](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-product-design-xero-london-abh2s5vwzpns) — London, United Kingdom
- [Customer Experience Specialist - Melio](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-experience-specialist-melio-xero-manchester-0apnfjtyx359) — Manchester, United Kingdom
- [Lead Engineer - Payments Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-engineer-payments-platform-xero-washington-m6pkscwf9c0q) — Washington, DC
- [Engineering Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-manager-xero-london-qqad92mfhj3h) — London, United Kingdom
- [Workplace Experience Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/workplace-experience-lead-xero-san-mateo-chd8q5sc97s4) — San Mateo, CA
- [Lead/Staff Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-staff-software-engineer-xero-san-mateo-eajgj6wa9bk4) — San Mateo, CA
- [Senior Product Marketing Manager - Payments](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-product-marketing-manager-payments-xero-melbourne-7jtjzme125z7) — Melbourne, Australia
- [Senior Engineer, Salesforce Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-engineer-salesforce-platform-xero-melbourne-xjxr6wyvevph) — Melbourne, Australia
- [Junior Accountant](https://feeny.ai/job/junior-accountant-xero-wellington-j7f0nkfym64q) — Wellington, New Zealand